Postman's Conclusion

     In the concluding paragraph of chapter 11, Postman makes the distinction between laughing and thinking.  Postman is saying that the danger in the age of television is that people no longer know why they are laughing, and they also do not know why they have stopped thinking.  This distinction is crucial to the premice of Amusing Ourselves to Death because it reveals the ultimate result of a decline in the age of typography.  Altogether, as a result of society's ignorance to their lack of thinking, people will just continue to be mindlessly entertained by the meaningless content of their television screens, and completely lose the ability to think for themselves.

My Smoke Signal

On Friday, as we were only allowed to communicate through charades and drawing, my message I was trying to get across was extremely impacted.  For example, I was not able to tell any stories at lunch because no one could understand my drawings.  Also, during lunch, I needed to ask someone what time the Sadies Dance was, and they never understood my question. Overall, my communication was limited due to my medium. Therefore, Postman argues that communication through smoke signals is absolutely incompetent. Any complex message cannot be fully expressed through the sole medium of smoke signals.  This is very similar to the way in which my communication was limited on Friday.

Discontent with Youtube and other Technology...on Youtube

     Neil Postman begins his argument at Calvin College by very simply stating that there is no escaping from ourselves.  His assertion is primarily that the technological changes through today's society has completely made the wisdom of the ages and its sages irrelevant.  Similarly in chapter one of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman brings up the truth regarding the effectiveness of different mediums of communication.  More specifically, he argues that smoke signals used in ancient days were nowhere near competent in terms of delivering a clear message.  Also, he argues that the modern day news media is too complex to bring about a clear and efficacious message without political and personal bias.  Today's technology and media, however improved and nice it may be, does not lead to a better end.  As Postman argued in the video, "All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end." This quote was originally made by Henry David Thoreau, and is directly related to Postman's purpose in Amusing Ourselves to Death.  Therefore, the medium does affect the message.  Also, Postman argues that with today's bettered technology, the society of today is completely reliant upon technology as a means of communication and entertainment.  However, according to Postman in his book, this is only degrading the quality of society and creating a dependent and incompetent society.  Similar to this argument, Neil argues in his presentation that the worth of humans is going to decrease as society becomes "pets to their own computers."  This statement roots from his theory that the technology of cloning is going to lead to spare human parts, as every human will eventually be cloned.  As a result of society defining these clones as just objects, it is shown that these clones are mere pets, who result from technology.  Altogether, Neil proves that as a result of an increase in television and e-media, typography and other print materials are decreasing, therefore decreasing society's intelligence and concern for each other and increasing its ignorance.

Censorship Strikes Again...or was it more Political Correctness??

     Within the first six words of Chavez's writing, she makes it clear that maintaining one's decorum in a public discussion is important.  Chavez intended to set a standard for the remainder of her essay by stating the importance of behavior within a debate.  This is important in order to have a more effective discourse, along with the fact that it shows one's civility.

     When Chavez said that "bellicose metaphors have been a staple of politics from the beginning," the word 'bellicose' primarily is used to give additional meaning to the metaphors used even in political history.  By definition, bellicose refers to a noun that is demonstrating aggression and ready to fight.  Therefore, it can be reasoned that Chavez's purpose behind using the term 'bellicose' is to confirm that these rhetorical metaphors are, and have always been, words used to express the tension between political parties.  The context in which the word was used proves that these metaphors have always been "fighting words."

     Linda Chavez is attempting to persuade the reader that this concept of always being politically correct and censoring everything is only damaging us as a society.  As the liberal standards in America lead to the continuing censorship, we, as the American people, are becoming more unable to express our true emotions, because the most expressive words are now politically incorrect.  In proving this point, Linda Chavez uses the example of former Washington Mayor Anthony Williams, who used the word 'niggardly' in describing something.  Despite the fact that this word has no relation to the derogatory "n-word," he was still forced to step down from his position.  This example, in my opinion, is her best, because it not only shows how censorship is stifling the diction of Americans, but also the ignorance of those who make these attempts at political correctness.  This proves that censorship will only lead to the ignorance made evident in the aforementioned example.

     I agree with Chavez in that censorship only hinders creativity and ultimately results in ignorance, leading to a future with less knowledge.

What does it mean to truly be "Green?"

1. "Have you figured out yet that I'm going as a cadaver, an anatomical gift?"


2. The intent of this essay by Semrau is to convince more people to sign up as anatomical gifts to be used for medical research and education.  This intent of Semrau is helped when he keeps information from the reader, which is accomplished through his writing strategy.  This strategy was basically to keep the reader interested long enough in order to make his point.  Once Semrau made his point about 3/4 through the essay, he continued to leave out some details in order to keep the reader curious.  As a whole, this strategy was successful, mostly because it kept my interest long enough to hear his point.  Also Semrau's writing strategy helps the intent because it helps to persuade the reader into agreeing with his point of donating your body to science.  It was also an interesting tactic for Waldemar to compare anatomical donations to being "green."  With so many people trying to be completely "green" nowadays, Waldemar knew he could appeal to a majority of the society's interests, and therefore be more persuasive.  Overall, through this strategy of writing, Semrau was successful in both persuading the reader and keeping the reader's interest.

Our Unbound Savior of the Nations, Come

Throughout “Savior of the Nations, Come,” Luther’s message primarily focuses on Jesus’s entrance into the sinful world He came to save.  Luther discusses how Jesus was born of a “Virgin undefiled,” which shows that it was the Holy Spirit who conceived Him, and therefore made Him both true God and man.  Another prevalent theme throughout this hymn is Jesus’s defeat over sin and the devil and the everlasting Kingdom of God, as described in stanzas five and six of the hymn.  In describing these themes, Luther uses a culmination of two literary devices, description and diction, to help the reader better understand truly how our God is unbound and unlimited.  When Luther describes how “glorious is its light divine,” and goes on to say “Let not sin o’ercloud this light,” he is using this word choice to describe the unlimited power of God, even in the form of a baby in a manger.  Jesus himself states that He is powerful enough to defeat all evil in Matthew 16:18, when He says that “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”  This statement validates the description and diction used in “Savior of the Nations, Come,” where with the literary devices help the reader to better understand the truth behind our omnipotent God.   

Rev. Borghardt's Sermon Review

1. Jesus was mentioned 32 times.

2. The verbs with Jesus as the subject: makes holy, took on sin, died, died for us, was slain, rose and reigns, makes alive, can't stand to be without us, calling us, lives, reigns on His throne

3. Borghardt’s and Edward’s sermons had many differences content-wise, but the themes were almost completely opposite.  The main theme throughout Edward’s sermon was that condemnation was inevitable without accepting the Messiah.  Edward’s sermon used God’s wrath and condemnation as an overriding theme to provoke the fear of God in his audience, and therefore his theme was of death and damnation.  However, in stark contrast to this theme is that of Reverend Borghardt’s sermon, which emphasized the absolute perfection of heaven, and how Jesus’s actions in the Gospel are the only way us, as sinners, can live in this eternal paradise.